A hot air balloon drifted over the house recently and I thought what great fun that must be, to silently float along with in the clouds pushed along by the prevailing wind. But I don’t like heights so my hot air balloon experience will be limited to being an observer - with my feet planted firmly on the ground.
As the balloon floated silently out of sight, I was reminded of a trip we took through the Southwest, our destination, Albuquerque, New Mexico where we attended the Great Balloon Fiesta.
Imagine waking up at 3:00 A.M. to go out into the cold New Mexico desert to see a hot air balloon take off at dawn. Well actually, there were 600 hot air balloons of incredible shapes and amazing colors that ascend into skies over the Rio Grande Valley in wave after wave after wave.
Our weather was perfect and it was a great day to take photographs especially considering you can mingle with the pilots and crews as they prepared for lift off. Held each year in October over nine days, over 100,000 people gather on the launch field for the rare opportunity to see these magnificent balloons lift off into the New Mexico sky. It’s quite a sight and I recommend anyone add it to their bucket list. It will lift your spirits.
Please visit www.jarrettstreetphoto.com to see more photos.
Until next time…
